Common Cents: Dime After Dime

Last night President Obama laid out a “wish list” of new spending proposals (and old spending proposals) to help finally stimulate the shrinking economy. So, after adding nearly $6 trillion to our national debt with spending programs that were supposed to bring us to near 5 percent unemployment today, we’re going to try it again. The difference? This time we’re supposedly going to do it without adding a single dime to the deficit.

SAME PROMISES DIME AND DIME AGAIN

SHOT: President Obama: “Nothing I’m Proposing Tonight Should Increase Our Deficit By A Single Dime.” (President Obama, 2013 State of the Union Address, White House, 2/12/13)

CHASER: Obama’s Spending Proposals Don’t Square With His Deficit Promise. “He offered several promising ideas on education, including a promise of ‘high-quality preschool’ for all children, though how that would square with his promise not to increase the deficit by a single dime went unexplained.” (Editorial, “In State Of The Union Address, Obama Lays Out His Second-Term Agenda,” The Washington Post, 2/13/13)

In A Time Of Trillion Dollar Deficits, President Obama Pushes More Spending:

“President Obama made a case Tuesday night for closing out the politics of austerity.” (Robert W. Stevenson, “In An Age Of Spending Cuts, Making The Case For Government,” The New York Times, 2/12/13)

“More Public Spending”: “At a time when Republicans are insisting on spending cuts, Obama pushed more public spending on universal preschool, construction work on bridges and schools and a jobs program rebuilding vacant homes in rundown neighborhoods.” (Nedra Picker, “Analysis: Obama isn’t in the mood for compromise,” Associated Press, 2/12/13)

More Spending On Roads And Bridges”: “In specific proposals for his second term, an assertive Obama called for increased federal spending to fix the nation’s roads and bridges, the first increase in the minimum wage in six years and expansion of early education to every American 4-year-old.” (Julie Pace, “Obama: Nation Stronger, GOP Should Back His Plans,” Associated Press, 2/12/13)

More Spending On High Speed Rail and Internet: “[Obama] renewed his push for more government spending on infrastructure projects, modernizing public schools and building high-speed rail and Internet.” (Carrie Budoff Brown, “Aggressive Speech, Even More Aggressive Message,” POLITICO, 2/13/13)

More Spending On Green Jobs And “Innovation Institutes”: “With a theme of strengthening the middle class, he proposed creating more jobs by investing in clean energy and creating new ‘manufacturing innovation institutes,’ as well as spending more public money on education and improving the nation’s infrastructure.” (Jerry Markon, “Obama In State Of The Union: Middle Class Is Job One,” The Washington Post, 2/13/13)

More Spending On Infrastructure To “Fix It First”: “Obama also called for new infrastructure spending totaling $50 billion. Under the ‘Fix it First’ program, $40 billion of that would go to urgent upgrades, including repairing 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country.” (Jennifer Epstein, “State Of The Union 2013: President Obama Calls For ‘Common Sense’ Solutions,” POLITICO, 2/12/13)

More Spending On Construction: “U.S. President Barack Obama proposed on Tuesday to hike the minimum wage by more than 20 percent, invest $50 billion on crumbling roads and bridges and spend $15 billion on a construction jobs program in a bid to boost economic growth.” (“Obama Proposes Raising Minimum Wage, Investing In Infrastructure Jobs,” Reuters, 2/12/13)

BankruptingAmerica.org is an educational project of Public Notice, an independent, nonpartisan, non-profit, 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to providing facts and insight on the effects public policy has on Americans’ financial well-being.

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